


Midnight On Halloween

by julliangray



Category: The A-Team - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:20:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27625979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julliangray/pseuds/julliangray
Summary: It's Halloween Night; Will Hannibal get a trick or a treat?
Relationships: Templeton "Faceman" Peck/John "Hannibal" Smith
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Midnight On Halloween

"This is impossible!" BA growled as he ran up and down the rows of stones. 

"We're never going to find him," Murdock moaned. "This place is too damn big!"

"Quitting is not an option!" Hannibal yelled. 

"Hannibal, we only have twenty minutes!" The panic in Murdock's voice was evident, and Hannibal wasn't too sure how much longer the other man could hold his mental state together. 

"I’m more than aware of that, Captain!” 

“Isn’t there anything on that note that might give us a clue to where he might be?” BA asked though to Hannibal’s ears it sounded more like begging. 

“No, just that he is here somewhere.” 

Here somewhere, Hannibal thought as he stopped at the top of a hill to looked out over the sixty-seven acres of the Evergreen Memorial Park & Crematory in the East Side neighborhood of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California. There were well over 300,000 graves in the cemetery, and Face was buried in one of them. 

Nine and a Half Hours Earlier:

“You know this isn’t going to be enough candy.” Face stated as he showed Hannibal the half-filled metal bowl. 

“Where did it all go?” Hannibal shifted on the couch to look at the candy bowl. “I bought over thirty pounds last week.” 

“Yes,” Face nodded, “And BA has been over here just about every night watching football.” 

“BA didn’t eat that much, did he?”

“No, I would say he had some help?” Face smiled as he pointed to the small pile of candy wrappers sitting on the end table beside his lover. 

“Oops, guess I’m busted.” Hannibal chuckled. 

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“I suppose you want me to run down to the store and grab a couple of more bags.”

“No,” Face shook his head as he set the bowl down. “I have a feeling that only about half of what you buy will make it home.”

“I’m not that bad,” Hannibal frowned at his younger lover. 

“You are a chocoholic, and if there is a twelve-step program to beat the addiction, I would strongly recommend you attend a meeting or two.” 

“Smartass, kid,” Hannibal growled as he made a lazy swipe toward Face’s ass as the younger man headed towards the front door. 

***  
“Where’s Face?” BA asked as he handed out another few pieces of candy. “At the rate I’m going, you’ll be out in thirty minutes.” 

“He should have been back by now.” Hannibal frowned as he looked down at his watch. 

“You know, Face, he probably got distracted by some pretty skirt.”

“Not funny, Baracus,” Hannibal glared at the other man. 

A few months ago, he and Face had let the rest of the team know that they were in a relationship with one another, and while Murdock had been thrilled, BA had remained in denial. At one point, the Sargent had even gone so far as telling Hannibal that there was no way that Face would be able to maintain a serious relationship for more than a month. Hannibal had argued with BA on more than one occasion until Face had finally told him to stop; in time, BA would come around. So far, Hannibal wasn’t sure if that would even happen. 

“You know how he can be.”

“I trust him completely.” 

“So what do you want to do?”

Hannibal looked down at his watch and frowned. 

“At this point, all we can do is wait, but I am going to say this, next week, I want a phone installed in his car.”

“Consider it done.” BA nodded, he was going to say more when the doorbell rang, and he heard the call of “Trick or Treat!”

***  
Hannibal was pacing back and forth as he waited for Face to come back home. Trick or Treating had ended an hour ago, but there was still no sign of the younger man. BA had gone out to drive around to a few local markets to see if he could find Face. Leaving Hannibal to do nothing but pace and worry, which was something that he thoroughly despised. He wanted to be on the streets, to be searching for the man he loved, but he couldn’t; he needed to be at the house, just in case. 

“Just in case,” Hannibal cursed the words as they tumbled out of his mouth; useless fucking words. 

***  
So lost in his thoughts, Hannibal damn near jumped out of his skin when the phone rang next to him.

“Tell me, you found him!” Hannibal cut through all the pleasantries. 

“No man, but I found his car…” BA was quiet for a moment, and Hannibal’s heart stopped beating in his chest. 

“What are you afraid to tell me?”

“There are cops everywhere, Hannibal, I don’t know what happened, but one guy is dead. And witnesses are saying that a blonde-haired guy was dragged away by someone in a van. I can’t get too close, but there appears to have been one hell of a struggle.” 

“Where are you? I’ll head your way.” 

“Three blocks away at Ralphs, the one across the street from that wine shop Face likes so much.”

“I know the one; I’m on my way...” Hannibal was just about to hang up when a crashing sound caused him to pause. “Hang on!” 

Grabbing a gun off the end table, Hannibal cautiously went to the front of the house. As he moved closer, he noticed that the Jack-o-Lantern he had carved the night before was smashed against the glass. Though what caught his attention the most was a note taped to the outside of the door. Carefully, Hannibal opened the door and looked up and down the street, but there was no one to be seen. Taking the note, he moved back into the house as he opened it. After scanning it the second time, he ran back to the phone. 

“I’m going to call Murdock; I need you to pick him back up and meet me at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.”   
***  
//On this night, you have one chance and one chance only. You have a tasty treat in the form of your Lieutenant, but the trick is to find him. Look among the dead as he rests in the same land as Eddie Anderson, Gary Vinson, and Joe J. Hayashi. Though be warned, Smith, if you do not find him by Midnight, there will be no need to dig him out of his grave//

“What in the hell is this supposed to mean?” BA growled as he handed the note to Murdock. 

“It means that Face is in this graveyard somewhere.” 

“You mean buried out there,” Murdock looked up from the note. 

“How can you tell that? Who is Eddie Anderson, Gary Vison, and Joe Hayashi?”

“Eddie Anderson played Rochester on the Jack Benny show. Gary Vinson played in everything from McHale’s Navy to Battlestar Galactica. Private Hayashi's won the Medal of Honor in WWII for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty. All of them are buried here in this cemetery.” Hannibal explained as he looked out over the expansive tombstone filled lawns. “And if I am reading this, so is Face.” 

“Where do we start?” Murdock pulled his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “This place is huge!”   
***  
Nine hours earlier…  
Face sighed as he unloaded the grocery bags in his car. He had managed to snag the last remaining bags of candy in the store, and with any luck, he would be back at the house in time to help pass it out. As he slid down in the driver’s seat, he heard someone walking up behind him; glancing in the side mirror, he instantly went for his gun tucked under his seat; however, before he could get it cleared, he felt pain rip through his left shoulder before he heard the shot ring out in his ear. Despite the agony, Face turned to fire his weapon, but the shot went wide when his assailant grabbed the wrist of his injured arm and pulled it back. 

Face howled in pain but still swung around, his fist catching his assailant in the jaw. As the attacker stumbled back, Face raised his weapon again and fired off another shot, this one hitting the man in the chest sending him crashing to the ground. 

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t go in first.” A familiar voice came from the right side of the car. “Now, drop the weapon before I leave Smith, your corpse in this car.”

“I thought they locked you up in the nuthouse.” Face recognized the voice instantly; then, he slowly turned his head to stare into the eyes of the other man. 

“Drop the weapon and get out of the car, Peck.” The other man snarled. 

Face dropped the weapon on the ground but didn’t make a move to exit the corvette. 

“I’m not feeling too well, blood loss and all, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to just sit here for a bit.” 

“Not an option, Peck; get him in the van.” 

Before Face could respond, he was hauled out of his car and thrown to the ground, and his hands were bound behind his back. Face tried to get fight back, but he didn’t stand a chance, and before he knew it, he was pulled to his feet and tossed into the back of the van. As he tried to sit, a foot shoved him back down, and the madman leered down at him. 

“It’s going to being interesting to see how smart Smith truly is.”

“You know he’s going to find me, and when he does, you’re going to pay.”

“You better pray you are right, Peck because your life is going to depend on it.”

The other man’s laugh chilled Face to the bone, but he didn’t allow it to show as he glared at the man standing over him. Instead, he glared back at his tormenter until his abductor grew irritated and kicked him in the side of the head, rendering him unconscious. 

***  
Face woke slowly though he wasn’t sure exactly where he was or what was going on. He was in complete and total darkness; there wasn’t even a speck of light showing. When he tried to sit up, he only made it a few inches before he banged his head. He tried to move his arms and legs, but like before, they were limited in movement to a few inches. Then there was a hissing in his ear that gently blew a breeze through his hair. Face moved his arms as best he could so that he could run his hands up his chest, trying to feel for the lighter he kept in his jacket pocket. 

Instead of finding his lighter, he discovered a slim round cylinder. Sighing, he went back to using his fingers to explore the object, and in a short amount of time, he realized it was a glow stick. Face cracked the stick shook it, and in a matter of seconds, his prison was reviled. He wanted to remain calm and process his surroundings further, but the primal part of his brain took over, and Face started to scream. 

“Stop!” Hannibal yelled as they came to another section in the cemetery. 

“We can’t stop; we only have ten minutes left!” Murdock looked at the older man in disbelief. 

“No, we’re doing this wrong.” Hannibal shook his head. “This place hasn’t had a burial in years. We need to look for disturbed earth; we’re never going to see anything running across the lawns. We need the van and the spotlights. BA can drive while we sit on the top and scan the area with the lights.”

“I’ll be back in under a minute!” BA started running back to the van as fast as he could. 

***  
It took several minutes before Face calmed down, and once he had his breathing under control, he began to process his surroundings. The first thing that he noticed was completely obvious; he was in a coffin. Face pushed hard, and it did not budge at all. 

“Make that a locked and sealed coffin.” Face muttered as he turned his head to look towards the hissing sound. It took some effort, but he managed to grab the cylinder and noticed that it was a bottle of oxygen, which only added to his thoughts that the coffin was sealed. Face moved the regulator on the oxygen tank closer so that he could read the gauge. 

“Shit,” he cursed when he noticed the gage was in the red, forcing down his fear Face looked around again after determining that there was no way he was getting out of the box; he made a decision. He needed to trust Hannibal, but he also needed to do his part and try to stay alive as long as possible. Carefully he turned the regulator down as low as it would go and placed the opening under his nose. It didn’t take long before he started to feel lightheaded, but he was still conscious, and that was what counted right now. 

***Midnight***

“We’re out of time,” Murdock whispered as his watch beeped out the time.

“We are not giving up Captain, quitting is not an option.”

“I know, but…”

“There are no buts!” Hannibal snarled as he turned his full attention back towards the graveyard. 

***  
Face heard his watch beep midnight, and he struggled to take a deep breath. It wasn’t long after he turned down the oxygen tank that he realized that getting fresh air wasn’t his only problem. There was also the issue of the carbon dioxide that was building up inside the coffin every time he exhaled. Over the last few minutes, he had started to feel a dull headache building along with nausea and dizziness. He thought that his vision might be blurring, but it was hard to tell from the dying light of the glowstick. Face thought about turning up the regulator, but he knew that he had to save as much oxygen as possible; he had to give Hannibal time. 

Ten minutes after midnight

“There!” Hannibal yelled as he pounded on the roof of the van. Before the van came to a complete stop, the Colonel was off the van's top with the pilot right behind him. The van had just come over a slight rise when Hannibal had seen a mound of dirt just off to the side an angel with a broken wing. 

As soon as he reached the grave, Hannibal looked around franticly for a shovel; when he didn’t see one, he dropped down to his knees and started digging with his hands. 

“Tell BA we need digging equipment.” 

Murdock wanted to stay and help, but he knew that Hannibal was right; there was no way they would be able to get to Face if he was buried very deep. As Murdock dashed back towards the van, he was met by BA, who was carrying two shovels. In a matter of seconds, BA and Hannibal were shoveling dirt as fast as they could. As soon as one of them started to slow down in their frantic pace, Murdock would set in to relieve them. 

***  
Face tried to take a deep breath, but it was impossible; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get in enough oxygen. He’d already vomited twice, and it had taken everything in his power to remain conscious after it had happened. He tried to remember what was happening and why he needed to conserve his air, but everything was confusing. Face closed his eyes as he felt the nausea building again. Maybe Face thought if he just rested a minute or two, he would feel better when he woke up. 

Fifteen minutes after Midnight

Hannibal thought he was going to cry when he heard and felt his shovel hit metal. 

“This is the top end,” BA grunted as he moved more dirt to get to the corner of the casket. “If we can get this off here, we can get it open.”

Murdock looked at his watch and started to pace back and forth; he was trying to keep positive, but every second that ticked by brought him closer to a manic state. When Hannibal and BA finally managed to get the upper part of the lid cleared of dirt, he burst into tears. 

“Hang on, Face; we’ll have you out in just a second!” BA yelled as he and Hannibal slid the pointed ends of their shovels under the edge of the coffin lid and started to pry it up. It took a lot more force than either man thought, but finally, the lock gave, and the top jumped on its hinges. BA stepped back as Hannibal jerked the lid open. The site of Face lying in the coffin was almost overwhelming for Hannibal. He was thankful that he had found his boy, but to see his battered, pale, and lifeless body crushed his heart. 

“Tem, please kid, don’t give up on me,” Hannibal knelt and touched his lover’s chest before sliding them up the slim neck. “He’s breathing, thank you, God, he’s breathing.”

BA let out a sigh of relief as he looked up at Murdock. 

“You hear that fool; he’s breathing; now quit standing there and get some water and blankets out of the van.”

“You don’t have to yell, you big ugly mud sucker, I’m going.” Murdock whooped as he wiped the tears from his eyes. 

“How is he, Hannibal?” BA asked as soon as Murdock was out of earshot. 

“He’s banged up pretty bad,” Hannibal answered as he continued to examine Face. He was worried that his lover was still unconscious but considering that he had been buried alive only a few minutes ago, that concern was pushed aside for the moment. “There is a bullet wound we’re going to have to deal with, but for right now, I believe we can get him out of this damn thing without injuring him further.”

Carefully the two pulled Face out of the steel coffin before Hannibal took the younger man into his arms, allowing BA to climb out of the grave. 

“Let me help,” Murdock dropped the blankets on the ground as he leaned over to help BA lift Face out of the hole. As Hannibal climbed out, BA and Murdock wrapped Face in the blankets and were trying to wake him. 

“We need to get him to the hospital,” Hannibal stated matter of factly. 

“Don’t you think that’s too dangerous?” BA moved to help the Colonel lift Face off the ground. 

“I don’t see any other choice, between blood loss and being shut up in that box…” Hannibal shook his head as he looked down at his lover. “We have no idea what he’s been through, shock and a bullet wound may be the least of our concerns.”

“Don’t…need…hospital…” Face wheezed out just before he started retching. “if you…stop the world…from spinning…” Face retched again but didn’t bring anything up. 

“How about I call Dr. Sullivan?” Murdock suggested as they moved Face towards the van. 

“Alright, but if she says you go, you go,” Hannibal stated, leaving no room for argument. 

***  
“How is he?” BA asked as he stepped through the master bedroom door. 

“Sleeping,” Hannibal looked over his shoulder. “His oxygen levels are slowly coming up as well as his blood pressure. Per Dr. Sullivan, as long as his vitals keep improving and he doesn’t develop an infection, he should be back on his feet in a few days. How’s Murdock?”

“Still not happy about having to go back to the VA, but considering how mantic he got after he found out it was Lynch who buried Face alive, I think you were right to send him back.”

Hannibal nodded as he turned back to Face, his fingers moving up to brush the fallen fringe of blonde hair back before double-checking to ensure the mask covering the younger man’s nose and mouth were secure. 

“So, what’s the plan?” BA asked as he stepped further into the room.

“As soon as I’m sure Face is going to recover from his, I’m going to hunt Lynch down and bury him in that box exactly where he put Face.”

BA wanted to say something, to deny that Hannibal was that cruel and heartless, that he could never be a cold-blooded murder, but he couldn’t. He had seen the rage and anger in the Colonel’s eyes when Face had coughed out the name Lynch. Instead, he said the only thing he could say considering everything that had happened to his little brother. 

“What can I do to help?” 

End


End file.
